Higher Education
by AGoldenCharm
Summary: Tina heads off to NYU for college, where she discovers the NYU New Directions, a college glee club with people who have all proven to be VERY interesting. Especially one guy in particular... Completely AU!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm currently in the process of writing this new AU. Just a little bit of background information- it's completely unrelated to the kids we know from McKinley High- but it's the same characters coming together at NYU. Just think of it as college!Glee ;) Anyway, I hope you like it! Enjoy. :)**

* * *

"Mom, stop _worrying,_" Tina sighs exasperatedly, pulling out stacks of clothes from her suitcase and transferring them into the drawers of her dresser- she doesn't even remember packing so many clothes with her and she has a nagging feeling that she won't even manage to wear half of them by the end of the school year, "I promise I won't get into any trouble." She's honestly not sure why she even bothers- even though she's usually a pretty laid-back person, her mom's a world class worrywart when it comes to college and it's almost not even worth the extra breath.

Mrs. Cohen-Chang is almost too busy making and re-making Tina's new (well, old and decrepit) bed to pay attention to what her daughter is saying. Whenever she panics, she cleans. Or organizes. Or does the dishes. But seeing as how her dorm room doesn't even have a sink, let alone any form of cutlery that would need washing, her mother settles for redoing Tina's bed for the fourth time in a row. As she hastily realigns the sheets and refluffs the pillow, Mrs. Cohen-Chang murmurs, "It's my job to worry."

Tina stops halfway through unpacking and goes over to her mother and gently takes the pillow from her with a comforting smile, "_Mom_. I'll come home for Thanksgiving, all right? And I'll tell you and Dad all about my first three months. You have _nothing_ to worry about." She knows her mom _needs_ to be able to worry about the terrible myths she's heard about college so Tina lets her do her thing.

"Oh, all right," her mom says with a pout, wringing her hands anxiously before going back to straightening Tina's bedding. Again.

Mr. Cohen-Chang, who is sitting at the desk on her side of the room and rifling through paperwork, maps of the campus, and flyers for Welcome Week events, reassures his wife, "Tina's a smart girl. She won't do anything irrational. Tina, will you be attending the welcome seminar this afternoon?" His eyes are too focused on the paper in front of him and he's too calm and collected to freak out alongside his wife.

Tina nods, "Yeah, after I get settled in. I think I want to see what they have to say- I'm sure it'll be useful for getting accustomed to the school."

"Good," he says approvingly. He's always the stay-on-top-of-everything kind of guy and if Tina ever forgets to keep herself on track, her dad's usually the one to veer her toward the right direction, "And do you know when your roommate will be arriving?"

She shrugs, "Everyone moves in alphabetically. Since I'm a 'C', I got to come here pretty early. I think my roommate's last name starts with an 'L'. She'll be here any minute now, I'm sure."

He checks his watch, "Well, if she doesn't show in the next half hour, I'm afraid your mother and I won't be able to meet her. If we want to make it back to Boston before it gets dark, we'll have to leave soon to avoid rush hour. In fact-"

The door suddenly swings open and a very pretty Hispanic girl with four or five sleek burgundy suitcases in tow appears on the other side. She's dressed in a tight, striped dress that hugs her well defined curves and black boots that look like they'd be pretty painful to walk in, despite how hot they might be. Her hair is pulled back in a severely high ponytail and she snaps her gum impatiently as she calls out behind her.

"_Ma_! Over here!"

A middle-aged lady, presumably the girl's mother, appears at the door, her eyes weary with exhaustion. She looks like a more petite, more weathered version of her daughter- and dressed more conservatively. But she's got the same facial bone structure and it doesn't surprise Tina one bit that they're related. The girl takes one step in, spots Tina, and nods in acknowledgment, "I'm guessing you're Tina?"

Tina nods shyly. She had promised herself that she'd be more outgoing in college, but sometimes, old habits die hard.

"Santana," the girl says briskly, introducing herself as her eyes sweep the small dorm room, "Looks like you're all moved in?"

"For the most part, yeah."

"This is my mom," Santana gestures carelessly to her mother, who beams and waves enthusiastically.

"And these are my parents," Tina motions back to her mom and dad, who rush forward to shake Santana's mother's hand. They exchange slightly awkward "nice-to-meet-you"s before launching into a conversation of the usual small talk- where they're from, where they work, and how much they'd miss their respective children.

"Ma, I think I can probably manage everything on my own now," Santana turns to her mother, "If you wanna catch your train in time, you'd best get going."

Santana's mom frowns, "I guess I must. Ohhh, Santana, mi corazon, how I will miss you!" She plants a kiss on her daughter's cheek and turns to Tina and her parents, "It was very nice to meet you! I'm sorry I'm leaving so suddenly- I never should have booked my ticket so early. Hopefully we will be able to properly get acquainted some other time!"

"Of course," Tina's mom smiles warmly, "That sounds lovely."

"Bye sweetheart," Santana's mom gushes, cupping her daughter's face in her hands, "Don't do anything stupid! ¿Me entiendes? You better be all in one piece when you come home for vacation."

"I know, I know," Santana rolls her eyes, "Love you, Ma."

Her mom babbles a bit more in an incomprehensible mix of English and Spanish, kisses her daughter twice on each cheek, and waves everyone goodbye before heading out the door. Tina swears she can see the mascara running down her cheeks.

"Sorry 'bout that," Santana says shortly, dragging her suitcases toward the free bed, "She's crazy, I know."

"Nah," Tina shrugs, "She's just emotional, I'm sure."

Santana studies her for a moment with piercing eyes, and Tina falters a little bit under her steady gaze. But it doesn't last too long and Santana snaps her gum again and then purses her lips, "I guess."

It's a little intimidating, the way Santana seems to be able to walk into a room and demand both attention and control the way she just did. Tina guesses that she's probably _used_ to being the alpha female in any given situation, and it's even more prominent when she talks- she seems both distant and a little aloof.

"Actually, we better get going soon as well," Mr. Cohen-Chang says curtly, breaking the silence, "Don't want to get stuck in traffic."

"Oh I suppose you're right," Mrs. Cohen-Chang sighs, making a beeline toward her daughter and enveloping her in an embrace, "Be good, Tina. Don't forget to call once in a while."

"Right," Tina says, hugging her mom back, "I will, I promise."

"Bye," her dad kisses her on the top of her head, "Have fun, Tina."

"If you're drinking, always have someone walk you home!" Mrs. Cohen-Chang says imploringly, "And always use a condom!"

"_Mom!_" Tina exclaims in horror at the same time her dad groans, "_Gloria_."

Santana snickers from where she's unpacking and Tina covers her face in mortification.

"What? I'm serious! Better safe than sorry."

"Mom..."

"All right, all right," she throws her hands up, "But you and I both know I'm only saying this for your benefit!"

"Gloria, you already _had_ this talk with her before," Mr. Cohen-Chang says, turning to place a hand on Tina's shoulder, winking, "I'll get her out of your hair, sweetheart."

"Out of her hair? You say that as if I'm some sort of nuisance!"

Mr. Cohen-Chang pretends to think about it but takes his wife's hand in his own, "Come on- we've got to let Tina learn how to fend for herself."

"Fine, fine," Mrs. Cohen-Chang sighs, "Bye sweetie! We'll miss you! Keep us posted, okay?"

"Okay," she can feel the tears welling up a little in her eyes. Despite how ridiculous her parents can be sometimes, she's really going to miss them. She hasn't gone more than a week (sleep away camps in the summer back in middle school and high school) without her parents before and it feels totally surreal that she'll be waking up each morning in a strange new place- away from the familiarity of her family and her home.

As her parents head out with their final goodbyes, Tina closes the door behind them, allowing the tears to finally roll slowly down her cheeks. It takes her a moment to remember that she's not alone in her new room.

"Are you crying?" Santana asks point-blank, sounding half-amused, half-irritated.

"No. I don't know. Maybe," Tina says, biting her lip. She cried more often than most people, sure, but she still isn't used to admitting it in front of people. Most of the time, she does her best to suppress the tears, but usually they get the best of her.

"Oh puh-lease. You'll see them in a couple of months. Besides," Santana opens a suitcase and retrieves a set of bedding, "You gotta take advantage of this freedom! Think about it- you can do _whatever_ the hell you want. You're parent-free right now!"

The way Santana puts it makes it sound like some sort of glamorized Hollywood college movie- the kind with crazy house parties and red plastic cups lined up in rows for beer pong, but it's also a bit depressing to Tina. Parent-free? That sounds downright terrifying. Tina sits down in her new desk chair, swiveling a little back and forth wordlessly.

Santana finishes setting up her sheets and turns around to stare at Tina, who's still staring at her own hands sadly, "Oh, c'mon! Don't tell me you're upset about this."

"I-"

"Ugh," she groans, "I was hoping my roommate wouldn't be a total buzzkill."

"Hey!" Tina folds her arms defiantly, not sure whether or not to be surprised that Santana is being so blunt right off the bat, "I'm not a-"

"Yes, you are. Look, I get that it's a big deal moving out or whatever but you gotta look at this like an _opportunity_."

"An opportunity for what?" Tina asks, stuck between being tearful and defensive.

Santana grins, a glint in her eyes, "To get absolutely _wrecked_ twenty-four seven."

Oh god. Tina had been wondering for weeks, ever since she got the name of her new roommate, what kind of person she was going to be. Tina usually gets along pretty well with everyone, for the most part, but if Santana is a full-out, alcohol-downing, morning-puking party girl... things could get stressful.

Santana must have spotted the look of terror in Tina's eyes because she sighs in frustration, "Don't tell me you're not down that kinda thing."

"Well..."

"Hmph. Well," Santana smirks, "I'm sure I'll change your mind soon enough."

* * *

Tina ends up attending the welcome seminar by herself, as Santana says she mostly just felt like taking a nap after getting settled in. The seminar doesn't end up being all that helpful, but it was still nice to be able to get all those pamphlets that they handed out- a lot of it included tips for course selection, best places to eat on campus, and the like. She stuffs the pamphlets into her bag before leaving the lecture hall and walking out.

Outside the building, dozens of booths are set up, each occupied by a certain club or organization. The sheer amount of posters, flyers, and overzealous club leaders makes Tina extremely dizzy to the point where she has to walk painfully slow in order to properly digest the information being paraded in front of her.

She passes by several non-profit organizations, mostly ones that organize volunteer initiatives at hospitals or run fundraisers for underprivileged minorities. Quite a few of them manage to get her to sign up- or at least put down her e-mail address for their mailing lists. By the time she passes by nine or ten booths, she's fairly certain she's signed up for every single one she's walked past.

But the next booth _really_ catches her eye, and it's not just because of its rainbow doused posters and wildly loud members who are putting on an impromptu performance in the middle of the courtyard. They're singing _Jailhouse Rock_.

_NYU Glee Club- New Directions._

Tina's high school didn't have a glee club. She performed small roles in their community youth theater group, but there always seemed to be people older and more talented than her that snagged the lead roles. Ever since she started considering applying to NYU, she's had her eyes fixed on their glee club. Maybe it would become her opportunity to branch out and finally perform at the head of a group someday. If there's _any_ extracurricular group she wants to be a part of, it's this one.

As she approaches the table, a brunette girl with big, round eyes bounds forward to greet her. She's wearing a bright red jumper and school-girl style knee-high socks and a pair of Mary Janes that Tina can't help but think belong in the third grade. That, of course, is something Tina can't afford to let slip if she wants to be part of this group.

"Hi! Are you interested in auditioning?"

The girl's voice is practically brimming to the top with excitement, and it honestly frightens Tina a little the way her smile is stretching from one end of her face to the other with no sign of letting up. How could one person be _that_ energetic?

Slightly taken aback, Tina does her best to smile, "Uh, yeah, I am."

"Fantastic! I'm Rachel Berry, I'm currently a sophomore here and I joined this group when I was a freshman. I can safely say that it was the best decision of my entire life!" Rachel Berry seems to be one coffee short of a bouncing off every sign, street lamp, and contactable surface in the courtyard, "We're entirely student-run and we perform on campus all the time, and sometimes get asked to perform at gigs both in New York and in other states."

Seriously, how does she speak without _breathing_? Tina glances at Rachel Berry for any signs of faintness or dizziness from lack of oxygen.

"Er... great," Tina mutters, "Where do I sign up?"

Rachel produces a sign up sheet and thrusts it forward, "Just put your name down and then check out our calender for open slots for audition times! Sign up for any of them and just show up at Kimmel Center for your audition."

Tina bends forward to write her name, e-mail address, and phone number down, then peers at the calender and picks tomorrow at one-thirty. Straightening, she turns back to Rachel, "What should I prepare for the audition?"

"Two excerpts from contrasting songs. We'll ask you to sing a couple of scales and runs, and then we'll have you sight read a random piece!" Rachel beams brightly.

Tina nods, her eyes wandering to where the other New Directions members are putting on a show. There's an alarmingly tall guy toward the end who looks like he's having trouble staying balanced on his own two feet, let alone dancing to the steps with the rest of the group. A curly haired guy with a confident, show-choir-worthy grin is singing the lead part, his movements and vocal range blowing her out of the water- he's sure to be a veteran. There's also a skinny blonde girl and a lanky Asian guy performing rather impressive choreography- they're clearly the star dancers of the group. Unable to take her eyes away from the entire group, she soaks in the New Directions' incredible vibe with looming excitement.

Finally tearing her eyes away, Tina thanks Rachel but bolts off before the girl can smother her with another onslaught of words.

As the last few bars of _Jailhouse Rock_ fills her ears while she walks back to her dorm, Tina presses her lips together firmly with determination. If there's anything she'd accomplish in the next few weeks, it would be getting into the New Directions.

Oh, and keeping up her grades, she supposes. Wouldn't want to upset her parents right off the bat.

* * *

That night, after their dorm's floor meeting with their RA, Betty Rollins- who Tina swears belongs in some sort of hippie cult by the way she talks and dresses- Tina and Santana head back to their room. Tina's all ready to change into her pajamas and Skype Diane, her high school friend from back home, when Santana shuts the door loudly and accosts Tina right on the spot.

"Word on the street is that Delta Phi is hosting a rager tonight and I am _not_ about to fly solo. You're coming with."

Tina blinks, hands already on her favorite set of PJs- a gray tank top and a criminally soft pair of plaid pajama pants, "'Word on the street'? Do people really say that?"

Santana rolls her eyes, "Whatever. Please don't tell me you're gonna sit here like a total loser while everyone is out there partying."

"Well I was planning on Skyping-"

"_No_. C'mon. Carpe diem or whatever, right? Slip into something sexier and maybe a little skankier and we'll bounce, mkay?" Santana whips out a tube of lip gloss and applies it like a total pro without a mirror.

Tina sighs. She can't help but think that maybe Santana's actually kind of right- she _should_ be making the most of her college days and it's barely even the first day yet and she's already acting like a recluse. What's the harm in going to a party, really? Well, besides the illegal underage drinking and various other shady affairs people tend to ascribe to at frat parties.

"I guess you're right," she caves, getting up and opening her dreser, "Although I'm not gonna take you up on the whole 'skanky' suggestion."

"One step at a time," Santana winks, "I'll get you there someday."

Tina ignores that, "We're not gonna be out super late, are we? I have an audition tomorrow."

Santana whirls around, "An audition? Or like a tryout? Wait, are you trying out for the NYU Cheer team too?"

"No, I mean audition. I'm not a cheerleader in _any _sense," Tina snorts, "I can barely even do a cartwheel. Wait, are you trying out for the cheerleading team?"

She used to do gymnastics when she was, like, four years old. But once she took up piano, she dropped gymnastics so fast and never looked back.

"Duh," Santana says breezily, tossing her hair in a way Tina swears only movie college chicks do.

"Oh," Tina says unhelpfully.

"So what are you auditioning for?"

She picks out a black top and a black skirt and shuts the drawer, "The NYU Glee Club."

Santana wrinkles her nose, "Ew, is that even a thing?"

"What- of course it's a thing," Tina says, appalled, "They're incredible. I really wanna-"

"All right, all right. I just didn't know people even _wanted_ to be a part of that kinda thing."

Maybe she doesn't mean to sound offensive, but Tina is definitely smarting from Santana's comment as she changes, sulking a little at the thought of wanting to be a part of something that others might find lame.

Santana changes into another tight dress with spaghetti straps and a v-neckline that probably reveals half of her boobs while still somehow covering enough to be publicly legal. She applies another layer of lip gloss and heads for the door, "Ready to go?"

"I guess," Tina shrugs, following her out. If she had to make a prediction, this is probably a pretty good representation of the rest of their year together as roommates. At least it would be interesting.

* * *

Turns out Delta Phi is one of the biggest frats on campus and they're known for holding the biggest welcome party every single year. Or so the frat brother who mans the entrance tells her with somewhat of a creepy grin. Or maybe he's not being weird at all and she's just being paranoid. Whatever.

The music is pounding between her ears as she and Santana walk in after being approved by the brothers at the door. The frat house is kind of dingy and not very well kept- it _is_ inhabited by boys, after all. But the lights are completely off in most rooms and Tina has a feeling it's probably a good thing- god knows what kind of disgusting things are occupying the floors. It's insanely crowded- Tina can feel herself fighting past people as she elbows her way through.

Santana, who is keeping close, leans into her ear, "C'mon! Let's go dance!"

She barely manages to make out with Santana had said. She can't even hear herself _think, _for god's sake.

Before making it onto the makeshift dance floor- basically a huge room without a single piece of furniture inside with the exception of the DJ's table- they pass by a long table littered with plastic cups, cans of beer, huge Gatorade-style dispensers, and rows upon rows of vodka bottles. Santana screeches to a stop.

There are five guys behind the table as makeshift bartenders with hoards of people in their faces asking for alcohol. All five guys are huge and burly, gratuitously fulfilling the frat boy stereotype Tina has ingrained in her mind. Not to mention none of them look like they have an IQ over seventy-five. They serve the drinks with big, dumb grins on their faces, and Tina notes that they tend to prioritize their serving order by attractiveness of each demanding customer. It looks like they'd have to wait for like half an hour before being able to get your hands on any.

That is, until Santana zeros in on the tallest of the five, a coy smile forming on her lips as she approaches him. The guy immediately notices her and grins, wrapping an arm around her waist as she whispers something into his ear. Her lips are dangerously close to his jawline and Tina kind of guesses that the juxtaposition is no coincidence. With a sly wink, he pours a hefty amount of vodka into two disposable shot glasses and hands them to Santana, saying something to her that Tina can't quite make out.

Santana bounds back toward her and hands her one of the shot glasses, grinning triumphantly.

"How did you _do_ that?" Tina gapes, not sure whether to be impressed or disgusted. Part of her wants to pat Santana on the back in some twisted congratulatory way but another part of her wants to weep for the integrity of women.

"Just gotta say the right things," she shrugs as if it's no big deal.

"Looks like he was interested."

Santana snorts, "Puh-lease. I wouldn't give him the time of day. Now c'mon. Take the shot with me and we'll go dance."

Tina's never had vodka before. She's had a sip of wine or beer here and there at dinner parties and the like, but she's never really had hard liquor, and there's something particularly daunting about how much higher the alcohol content is in vodka than in beer or wine. But, not wanting to be a stick in the mud, she raises her shot glass with Santana and throws it back, completely taken aback by the sharp burning in her throat. Doing her best not to make a face of pure disgust, she clears her throat and tosses the cup into a nearby trash can.

As soon as they're done, Santana grabs her hand and drags her to the dance floor, hollering a whole string of unintelligible words that Tina can't quite make out.

There's always been that whole college stereotype where everyone heads off to frat parties and does keg stands or whatever. The point is, Tina never imagined herself at its forefront, never pictured herself to be squished between sweaty, dancing bodies with the loudest music she's ever heard practically deafening her. But here she is.

And as soon as they're dancing like idiots in the midst of the crowd, she kind of figures... why the hell not?

* * *

When Tina's alarm goes off the next morning and she practically falls out of her bed, the semi-conscious part of her brain is thanking her good sense five times over that she hadn't had more than three shots the night before. She slams her hand against the alarm clock to shut it up and winces at the pain.

Last night, she and Santana had stumbled back into their room at around three thirty- Tina had wanted to come back earlier but it was kind of difficult to leave seeing as how Santana had downed six or seven shots by two and showed no interest in leaving whatsoever. Not wanting to be a shitty roommate, Tina had stayed, but was eternally thankful that Santana decided by three-thirty, she had had enough.

When her alarm goes off, Santana stirs a little in her bed, groaning a little in her sleep but showing no sign of waking up. Tina glances at the clock- eleven thirty. She still has time to grab breakfast, head to the auditorium, and hopefully find somewhere to warm up before her audition.

She stops by the cafeteria as marked by her campus map for a granola bar and a banana before trying to maneuver her way to the auditorium, her fingers already trembling a little at the idea of auditioning. Because it's student-run, the people who will be listening in could also potentially become her _peers_ and _teammates, _which terrifies her. What if they all hate her? What if they accept her and decide to discuss the flaws of her audition behind her back?

She gets lost along the way to the auditorium, but eventually finds it and cautiously walks in, spotting a couple of handmade signs that say "_Glee Club auditions this way"_. Tina follows them until she reaches a set of heavy oak doors that probably lead to the actual auditorium. Gulping, she stalls. Maybe there isn't anywhere to warm up?

"Hi! Are you lost?"

Tina follows the source of the voice and finds the same tall blonde girl from yesterday- the incredible dancer with the unbelievably long legs. Her legs somehow look even longer up close, if at all possible. Tina tries not to stare. She's always wanted long legs.

"Er kind of?" Tina bites her lip, "I was wondering if there was any place for me to warm up?"

The girl cocks her head, "Well, there's a radiator next to the stage if you wanna go there."

Tina blinks. She can't tell if the girl is kidding or being serious- her words sound like they should be a joke but the girl looks... well, dead serious. After an uncomfortably long silence, Tina clears her throat.

"Um, well... I meant like if there was somewhere I could go to practice. Y'know, before my audition."

"Oh! Yeah, there are rooms backstage! I'll show ya."

...So maybe she _had _been serious. Tina shakes her head, thoroughly confused.

The blonde girl leads her backstage and shows her to an empty room, and grins brightly, "Here ya go! Someone will come get you when it's time for your audition."

"Er... don't you need my name or something?" Tina calls out as the girl turns to leave.

"Oh," she says, furrowing her brow as though not understanding why it would be necessary, "Sure, I guess?"

"Tina. Tina Cohen-Chang."

"I'm Brittany," she beams, "Nice to meet you, Tina."

Brittany skips off- like literally _skips_ off- humming to herself as she closes the door behind her and leaves Tina alone in her practice room. What a character.

Pacing back and forth within the cramped room, Tina begins to run through a couple of simple scales, doing her best not to be _too_ loud in case someone out there could hear her. She vows not to run through her prepared songs, in fear that over-practicing them might lead to her forgetting the lyrics, but she goes through as many scales and arpeggios as she can manage before hearing a soft knock on her door.

Taking a deep breath, she reaches for the door handle and opens it. This is it. This is her chance to do what she's been waiting for for god knows how many years. She's been hoping to someday perform in a group like this for so long and this is her opportunity to prove that she's got more talent than those youth community troupes had believed.

She swings open the door, expecting to see Brittany again, but is instead faced with the tall, lanky Asian from yesterday- the other dancer. He looks... much different up close. His features are slightly sharper and his eyes are way bigger than she'd expected. Almost _too_ big for an Asian. His smile is friendly and warm, and the way he leans against the door makes him look totally at ease. Which she, currently, is _not_.

"Hey! Tina, right?"

"Um, yeah," Tina says shyly, exhaling slowly, "Is it my turn?"

"Yep," he says cheerfully, gesturing for her to follow him, "You ready?"

"I think so."

He leads her to the stage and pulls aside the curtains that separate her from the entire auditorium, "Best of luck."

"Thanks," she breathes, managing a grateful smile as he waves and bounds off stage to join the ten or eleven other people sitting in the audience.

A male voice calls out, "Tina Cohen-Chang?"

"That's me," she says, mustering as much courage as she can in order to avoid sounding tremulous.

"Great! I'm Jesse. If you could start by singing a scale for us? Here's your starting note," he blows in a pitch pipe and the note echoes.

Tina sings the scale the way she's always been taught to- without too much vibrato but still resonantly and full of power and confidence. When she finally gets back to the tonic note, the same guy pipes up again.

"All right, now if we could have you sight-read something for us? It's on that music stand over there. You have thirty seconds to glance it over before starting."

She spots the stand off to the side of the stage and goes to retrieve it, glancing at the score in front of her. It's not a real song or anything- just a series of compiled notes in what looks to be A major. She scans the notes as quickly as she can- she's used to sight-reading, mostly because she's played piano since she was four and she's pretty good with stuff like that. But her hands are shaking a little as they grip onto the score and she hopes to god they can't see.

After thirty seconds pass by, the same guy- Jesse- clears his throat and Tina straightens to begin singing.

Overall, she's pretty sure she does rather well- she might have accidentally overshot a note or two, but she was quick to tune it back and when she gets to the end, there's this rush of exhilaration that she can feel in her fingers and toes.

"Okay," the guy's voice shows no sign of approval or disapproval, much to her frustration, "And you've prepared two contrasting pieces for us?"

"I've selected '_Who Are You Now?' _from _Funny Girl_ and _'Miss Independent'_ by Kelly Clarkson," Tina says, taking a deep breath. She wasn't sure about what songs she'd want to sing, and she had spent a great deal of time thinking about it. But in the end, she wanted to pick songs that she was comfortable singing- Kelly Clarkson is her singing-in-the-shower go-to artist and she's watched _Funny Girl_ more times than she cares to count.

"Whenever you're ready."

_Who are you now,_  
_Now that you're mine?_  
_Are you something more_  
_Than you were before?_  
_Are you warmer in the rain,_  
_Are you stronger for my touch,_  
_Am I giving too little_  
_By my lovin' you too much?_  
_How is the view,_  
_Sunny and green?_  
_How do you compare it to_  
_The views you've seen?_  
_I know I am better, braver and surer too,_  
_But you-are you now-_  
_Who are you now?_  
_Are you someone better for my love?_

When Tina finishes the song, she's a little out of breath and starting to sweat. But she feels good about it- better than she usually does after an audition. There's polite clapping from the audience but again, she can't tell whether they liked it or not. After a slight pause where the only noise in the entire auditorium is the light scratching of pens and pencils against paper as her audience takes notes, she proceeds to the next song.

For _Miss Independent_, she sings an abridged version in order to stay within a certain time limit that's usually the standard for auditions like this. Her second song goes even better than her first- by the time she hits the final note, she feels like she'll never be able to sing another high note again- _that's_ how drained she feels. It's a good sign. It means she gave it her all.

The smattering of applause after her second song is slightly louder- or maybe she's imagining it- than after her first, and it makes her feel a little more confident to hear it.

"Well! Thank you so much, Tina. I see you've already written down your e-mail address on our sign-up sheet. So after we make our final decisions, we'll contact you."

"Thank you for your time," she says politely in a rush, bowing her head.

"Not a problem," he says briskly, "Hey- Mike, you wanna show her out and get the next auditioner?"

"Sure!" Mike, she assumes, says and though she still can't distinguish anyone's faces in the audience, she recognizes the voice immediately. It's the same guy who brought her up on stage before her audition.

When he jumps back on stage, she can see his face again, and there's an encouragingly warm smile across his lips that makes the slightly jittery feeling still coursing through her settle down a little. She follows him off stage and continues to take careful, even breaths in an attempt to recollect herself.

"Best way out is to take that side door over there- the road out there will lead you right back to main campus," Mike says, pointing, and she follows the path his long fingers create.

"Thanks," she says softly, glancing up at him quickly. Can he tell that she's still shaking?

"By the way," he says before turning on his heel to leave, his expression overwhelmingly kind, "You were great."

She watches his retreating figure. Usually, she doesn't let other people's opinions get to her head after an audition- her parents used to always reassure her that she did "amazingly" and would "get the part for sure" after a community theater callback or whatever but she didn't trust other people's words quite as much as the gut feeling she'd get afterward. Her mom always says she's her own harshest critic but to be honest, she just felt more at ease relying on herself- not others.

But there's something about the simplicity of his words that makes a small, uncertain smile creep its way onto her lips.

* * *

**A/N: And that's a wrap for the first chapter! I know this is sort of different than most of what I write, but I hope you all liked it anyway. Let me know what you thought.**


	2. Chapter 2

Tina finds out by her fourth day of college that summoning the will power to go to class is almost downright impossible. It bodes particularly poorly considering the fact that a week hasn't even gone by yet and she still wakes up every morning wanting nothing more than to burrow back into her blanket cocoon. It doesn't help either that her earliest class is at 9:30 and Santana's earliest is at 11:30- which means that each morning when she gets up and feels a bit like she's been run over by a semi-truck, she's always glancing over at Santana's still sleeping figure with sheer envy- and a little resentment.

Another thing she realizes on her fourth day is that despite how many times she opens up her brand-new, excitingly unfamiliar NYU e-mail account, it is still completely devoid of an e-mail from the NYU Glee Club. It makes sense that they haven't made their decisions yet- there are probably dozens of auditions they have to go through- but there's still a little part in her brain that insists on checking obsessively.

After her fourth day of classes- English composition, economics, and statistics in that order- she heads to the café across from her dorm to get caught up on her economics reading, which has somehow piled up into an unmanageable heap in only a matter of days. She orders the biggest size of black coffee that they have available and settles into a booth near the window to lay out her woefully heavy econ textbook.

She's about one paragraph in- and has managed to retain at most half of what she's read- when a slight shadow looms over her textbook, causing her to look up, startled. Standing before her is an _extremely_ well-dressed guy- a crisp button down shirt underneath a stylish charcoal vest with pants she's pretty sure should theoretically cut off the circulation to parts she's sure he'd want to maintain. He's got a really adorable smile- one that extends to his cheekbones and makes his eyes look brighter than they already are- and he looks overwhelmingly friendly.

"Hey- you're Tina, right?"

Tina blinks, not sure how or why this guy knows her name. She's pretty sure she's never seen him before in her life, "Uh... yeah, I am."

"Kurt Hummel," he says brightly, extending his hand forward for her to shake, "I'm a sophomore in the NYU Glee Club- I was at your audition the other day."

"Oh!" Tina says, surprised that he still recognized her- she always imagined older students didn't bother with freshmen. She shakes his hand and smiles shyly- it's intimidating to be in the presence of someone who's been in the glee club for a year already. Not to mention someone who's vintage-looking messenger bag is starting to make her green with envy.

"I'm technically not allowed to disclose any information," Kurt says, readjusting his messenger bag on his shoulder, "But I truly enjoyed your performance."

"I- thank you," she says, unsure of how to respond. She's flattered, definitely, but she's always sort of been bad at accepting compliments. Her mom always says it's because she's a perfectionist and not willing to admit that she's done well when she knows she can do better, but she's always figured it's because compliments are just _uncomfortable_ things.

"It's been quite a while since we've seen anyone with your type of timbre and tone," he says thoughtfully, leaning against her booth, "Even this year's auditioners..." Kurt trails off, not bothering to finish his sentence.

Tina smiles awkwardly, tracing her fingers along her textbook wordlessly, waiting for him to continue. She kind of feels like he's not done talking.

"Anyway," Kurt shrugs, appearing to shake away his incomplete train of thought, "Are you studying? Mind if I join you?"

More shocked than ever, Tina stammers, "O-of course not," and pulls her book closer to herself to make room for Kurt.

He slides into the other side of the booth and plops his bag down next to him, not showing any indication of wanting to pull his work out. Instead, he props his chin in his hands and stares at her intently, as though waiting for something in particular.

"What?" Tina asks nervously, faltering under his gaze.

"Nothing!" Kurt says innocently, and she's pretty sure he starts batting his eyelashes for effect, "I'm just interested! In you! Tell me about yourself."

It's weird to her that Kurt Hummel is interested in her in any way, shape, or form (she's pretty sure it's not in a romantic sense- but maybe she's making assumptions). She's just some freshman that auditioned for the campus' glee club. Why is she special enough for him to show any interest- enough for him to seek her out and sit next to her at a coffee shop, where there are plenty of other empty tables available?

"Er... all right," Tina taps her fingers against the table, "I'm from a Boston suburb. I've known I wanted to come to NYU since my freshman year of high school, so when I got in, I was naturally ecstatic."

Kurt nods wisely, "Most people who come here have known from the start that it's their dream school, which is the great thing about this place. And it definitely shows in the group, too."

"Yeah, I hope-" Tina stops mid-sentence as her iPhone vibrates, indicating a new e-mail. She would usually check it, but can't help feeling it might be rude to check her phone in the middle of a conversation. But she's been waiting for new e-mails all day, each time hoping it would be the one that would decide her fate with the New Directions.

"Go on," Kurt says encouragingly, a grin forming across his lips, "I don't mind."

With an appreciative smile, Tina unlocks her phone with the swipe of a finger and launches her e-mail. Her heart stops when she sees the sender- nyunewdirections.

_Dear Tina,_

_Thank you so much for auditioning to be a part of the NYU New Directions! We had an astounding number of interested students and we are extremely appreciative of everyone's interest._

_After careful consideration, we have decided to extend a formal invitation for you to join our group this year! Congratulations on a fabulous audition. If you should choose to accept your position in our group, please e-mail us back as soon as possible._

_Our first rehearsal is tomorrow at 7pm at the Kimmel Center in room 901._

_Again, congratulations and we hope to share an incredible year with you!_

_NYU New Directions_

Tina looks up from her phone, her heart beating uncontrollably in her chest and her palms already starting to sweat over the table. Could this be real? Is this some sort of horrible prank? If it is, it's got to be the worst practical joke in existence because she has a feeling that if this acceptance gets retracted for _any_ reason, she'll spend the next four years here at NYU moping like an idiot. She wants to read and re-read the e-mail a dozen more times just to make sure she isn't seeing things.

"Sooo," Kurt interrupts her third time through the e-mail with a smile, "Who was it from?"

The sing-songy tone of his voice makes her snap her head up to look at him with suspicious eyes. _That_ was the voice of a boy who knew too much...

"Oh my god!" Tina says suddenly, clapping a hand over her mouth, "You totally knew they were going to send out that e-mail right now!"

Kurt's grin grows wider as he does a little victory dance right from where he's sitting, "Congratulations, Tina. I'd _like_ to say I had something to do with it but it was pretty much unanimous."

_Unanimous. _She's torn between wanting to whack him across the head for withholding information and wanting to hug him as hard as she can out of sheer excitement. Then again, she's only known him for all of fifteen minutes so she figures she should probably refrain from doing either. Still. _Unanimous_. She can already feel her pride rising despite herself- she knows she needs to stay modest but she hasn't felt this good in _ages_.

"I- wow, thank you! So much," Tina says emphatically, staring down at her phone, which is still opened to the e-mail, "I can't believe this!"

Kurt scoffs, "What do you mean, you can't believe it? You were one of the best to audition. Er," he stops, his eyes widening significantly, "I'm not sure if I was supposed to tell you that.

She chuckles, blushing deeply, "Well... thanks, I guess. Did you come find me just to sit here and watch my reaction?"

"Nah. Well, kind of-" Kurt shrugs, "I saw you walk in and I thought it'd be amusing to watch you open the e-mail. Jesse told me he was sending out the decisions around this time, anyway."

"Sneaky," Tina shuts her econ textbook, decidedly unable to read any more with how much excitement is consuming her, "Is everyone in the club this conniving?"

Kurt winks, pursing his lips a little as he carefully smooths down the lapels of his vest, "Only the best members, of course."

Tina beams. She's already starting to fall in love with this club.

* * *

Tina changes her outfit three times prior to rehearsal the next day before finally settling on one of her favorite pleated white dresses with the black sailor-esque neckline and a pair of black combat boots that are seriously starting to approach their expiration date. She always has such a hard time letting go of her favorite wardrobe items.

She knows that technically her outfit has nothing to do with her voice or personality- both of which are the real deciding factors in the first impression she makes at today's rehearsal. But she's always been big on fashion and she can't help but think that maybe if she wears something impressive, the other members will think of her as someone with at least decent fashion sense, if anything.

"How many times have you changed?" Santana asks from her bed, sounding annoyed and impatient- she's lying with her head hanging slightly off the edge and only one headphone lodged into her ear, bobbing her head to music even Tina can hear from where she's sitting.

Santana's moping _big time_. She had just received the news that she hadn't made the varsity team for the cheer squad ("_Second string_," she had spat disgustedly, "I am _not_ second string material.") and is still in mourning over her loss. She insists that she had slipped briefly on the very waxy gym floor and had been denied solely because of that mistake in her tryout. Which, if it's true, would suck a _lot_. At first, she had pretended it wasn't a big deal, but the way she's been moodily staying in bed instead of going outside and enjoying the gorgeous weather like the rest of their hall speaks for itself.

"Three," Tina says, not guiltily, "I just want to look nice."

"Why?" Santana rolls her eyes, "It's just a stupid glee club rehearsal. It's not like you're heading to the Oscars."

Tina feels for Santana, she really does, but seeing as how her bitchiness level has risen exponentially since finding out she didn't make the cheerleading team and as Santana's roommate, Tina is at the receiving end of a seemingly endless stream of snarky tirades- her sympathy can only extend so far.

"I just wanna look nice," Tina shrugs, checking her reflection in the mirror. She turns hesitantly to Santana, asking for the third time, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Santana snorts, "For the millionth time, I'm _fine_. Anyway, don't wait up when you get back from rehearsal. I'm going out with Ellen."

Ellen lives down the hall and is probably the single biggest party girl Tina has ever met. She's actually starting to get kind of concerned about Ellen's grades- it's only the first couple of weeks of school and she's already falling dangerously behind.

"Okay..." Tina says softly, scooping up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, "I'll see you later then."

"Bye."

Tina's already mapped out the route to Kimmel Center- she did it during class while she was supposed to be paying attention to normal distributions and standard deviations- and she's determined not to get lost. The last thing she wants is to be late to her very first rehearsal.

She actually manages to find it with ease and makes her way up to room 901 with ten minutes to spare- she figures on time is late and early is on time. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opens the door.

The rehearsal room is incredibly spacious and well-lit. There are mirrors that remind her of a dance studio lining one of the walls that stretch from the ceiling to the floor and there's a grand piano in the corner of the room- her fingers itch to play it. Before she has the chance to appreciate the room any further, she's approached by two vaguely familiar faces.

"Hi! Tina, right?" The first of the two is none other than Rachel Berry, the overly excited brunette with a wide enough smile for toothpaste commercials.

"Y-yeah," Tina stammers, trying not to let Rachel's overwhelming presence swallow her whole.

"Nice to see you again, Tina," the second is the curly-haired show choir poster boy, "Jesse St. James."

"Oh! You were in charge of my audition," Tina remembers the name.

"I was indeed," Jesse says with a grin- one that rivals Rachel's, "Rachel and I are the co-captains of the New Directions."

"I- wow, great," Tina smiles politely, slightly distracted by the several other members filing in noisily.

Jesse follows her gaze and says reassuringly, "Don't worry, we'll do introductions right away so we're more at ease with one another. We're glad to have you on board, Tina!"

"Um- thanks!"

Tina notices that people are starting to sit in a circle cross-legged on the floor so she follows suit, sitting down next to a glamorously dressed girl with gigantic hoop earrings and gorgeously clear skin that Tina finds herself envying.

"Heyyy," the girl says, grinning, "I'm Mercedes- you must be Tina?"

Tina nods nervously, glancing at the other members who almost seem to be taking turns looking at her and a few other people who they don't seem to know as well- probably the other newbies.

"Don't be nervous girl," Mercedes says casually, waving a hand dismissively, "No way in hell is anybody in this group scary enough to be worth your jitters," she winks.

Tina giggles, wrapping her arms around her knees as she brings them close to her chest, checking to make sure she isn't accidentally flashing the entire group, "I feel like I'm on a first date or something."

Mercedes gives her a comforting grin, "Don't worry. You'll fit right in."

Once the clock strikes seven exactly, Jesse whacks the floor with his fist to get everyone to quiet down- and it works rather well too, Tina notes, not expecting that at all.

"All right folks," Jesse says authoritatively, "First order of business is to welcome all of our new members-"

There's a round of applause, which instantly isolates the new members, as they're the only ones not clapping. Tina glances at each of the three other non-clapping members who look just as awkward as Tina feels. The first is a sweater vest-clad boy with wide-rimmed glasses and a long, narrow face. He's in a wheelchair and by the comfortable way he rests in it, it looks like he's been in it for most of his life. The second is a blonde guy with big, pouty lips and eyes that crinkle when he smiles. The third guy is much shorter, with thick, curly brown hair and twinkly brown eyes that are trained rather resolutely on- Tina follows his line of sight and blinks in surprise- Kurt, who is dressed immaculately in a button down shirt and striped pants that go almost _too_ well with his boat shoes.

It alarms her a little that all three of the other new members are guys- not that gender really matters in the long run, but she can't help but wonder about the implications of being the only new girl. Or maybe there are no implications at all and they simply needed to balance out the group- there _are_ quite a few girls in the room already and it doesn't seem severely imbalanced or anything.

"Let's go around and have the new kids introduce themselves and then say something interesting about yourself," Jesse says- Tina's not sure how to take being called a "kid"- and points to the blonde guy first, "Go!"

The blonde guy grins- his mouth growing inexplicably larger- and plays with his shoelaces as he speaks, "I'm Sam Evans. I'm from Louisville. Umm, I like to play football. And Counter-Strike. I'm a guitar player- I played it during my audition. And I'm an Aquarius."

Tina tries not to roll her eyes. Horoscopes are total bull in her opinion, but to each their own, she supposes.

The guy in the glasses goes next, "Sup. Artie Abrams. Originally from Brooklyn. When I'm not jamming with friends, I like to fool around with videography- I'm here at NYU to study film. I also," he shoots a glance at Sam, "Like to play Counter-Strike. And League of Legends. And Halo. And Assassin's Creed. Basically I'm a video game junkie, but that don't mean I spend all day every day cooped up in my dorm. I know how to have a good time too!"

The group laughs appreciatively and Artie grins toothily in response. Sam holds out a fist, which Artie enthusiastically leans over to bump.

Great. More boys. More video games. Tina groans internally.

The third guy, the one with the curly brown hair, speaks up next, "I'm Blaine. Blaine Anderson. I'm from New Jersey- literally Jersey Shore but no, I don't watch that wretched TV show. So no Jersey Shore jokes," he waggles a finger in warning, "Besides that, I like to listen to music in my free time and sing, obviously. I'm a huge glee club nerd- it was the best part of my high school experience."

So Blaine's got experience. Tina can't help but wonder if she should feel threatened or worried by that. It's times like these when she wishes her high school had a glee club.

All eyes turn to her, and she inhales sharply before beginning.

"I'm Tina Cohen-Chang," she says, her voice significantly softer than the others' but still audible, "I'm from a Boston suburb and I'm here studying economics. I like to play piano and I'm totally in love with Broadway. And I'm really excited to be here," she adds as an afterthought.

Jesse and Rachel both beam at that, which makes Tina feel a little more at ease- at least they don't think she's some sort of psycho. She plans on making it clear just how excited she is to be a part of this.

"All right, so Sam, Artie, Blaine, and Tina," Jesse ticks off, "Now we'll have the returning members introduce themselves so you can start to remember who everyone is. I'll start! I'm Jesse St. James and I'm a senior here at NYU. I've been in this club for all four years of college and I couldn't live without it. I'll be graduating this year with a bachelor's in music. I had big dreams to go on to Broadway but I think I might end up teaching instead. Rachel?"

"Hi! I'm Rachel Berry," Rachel says loudly, enunciating every word, "I'm a sophomore and studying vocal performance at Steinhardt. I have always had my eyes set on Broadway and that won't be changing any time soon. I hope one day when I'm starring in a new musical, I'll be able to get you all tickets!"

"You said that_ last_ year, Berry," a guy with a mohawk on the other side rolls his eyes, "You don't need to remind us."

"I'm just informing our newest members," Rachel says imploringly, "Don't patronize me."

Tina stares. The rest of the group is shaking their heads and chuckling as though totally used to her saying things like this- and Tina feels like she shouldn't be surprised that Rachel is the last person to shy away from her ambitions. Still, it's bizarre to Tina to hear someone so sure of her future- especially when she's so uncertain of her own.

The next person to speak is the abnormally tall guy with smallish eyes and dimples etched around the corners of his mouth, "I'm Finn Hudson. I'm here at NYU on a basketball scholarship but I'm studying music business at Steinhardt. I also like to play football and hockey whenever I can and uh- oh, yeah, I'm a sophomore too."

"Best damn basketball player NYU has seen in a while," the mohawked guy says with a grin, shoving Finn in the side.

"Oh shut up."

Kurt goes next, "Kurt Hummel. I'm studying vocal performance as well and I'm also a Broadway addict. And a fashion addict," he adds, "I'd sell one of my kidneys for the full Alexander McQueen fall collection," he sighs longingly, "You think I'm joking but I'm totally not."

The Alexander McQueen fall collection is one of the single most breathtaking things Tina's ever had the fortune of seeing and when Kurt mentions it, she emits a little squeak of excitement before clapping a hand over her mouth, blushing deeply when everyone turns to look at her.

"Sorry," Tina says, embarrassed, "It's just... if you needed help paying for it, I'd totally chip in with my spare kidney too."

Kurt grins widely as everyone laughs, "Tina, I have a feeling you and I will get along just fine."

They share a quick smile while the next person, the mohawk guy goes next.

"I'm Puck. I like guitar. And cars. And _Die Hard_. Best fucking movie ever."

He stops after that and Tina expects him to go on but he totally doesn't and no one really looks surprised. His name _can't_ just be _Puck_. She makes a mental note to ask Kurt or Jesse or someone afterward.

"You're so crass," Rachel rolls her eyes.

"Bite me Berry."

The girl sitting next to Puck with horn-rimmed glasses and a stoic expression across her face goes before the conversation takes a turn for the worse, "Lauren. Zizes. Film major and voluntary food critic so if you ever have anything you want me to taste test for ya, holla."

Tina can't tell if Lauren Zizes is kidding or not. But by the totally unamused look she's giving everyone right now, Tina guesses that maybe she isn't.

Brittany, the blonde dancer, goes next, "I'm Brittany S. Pierce and I like to dance whenever I'm not taking care of my cat or dreaming about unicorns."

She stops almost as abruptly as Puck. Tina's starting to get the feeling that this group isn't quite so verbose. Or maybe Rachel Berry is wordy enough to make up for everyone else.

A stunningly gorgeous blonde girl with unbelievably long eyelashes goes next, "I'm Quinn Fabray. I'm studying Gender and Sexuality Studies. I'm also a part of the cheerleading team- I'm actually the captain-" Tina's mind flashes to Santana, "- And... my favorite flavor of ice cream is strawberry."

Mercedes follows Quinn, "I'm Mercedes Jones. I'm studying Music Business at Steinhardt. I'm looking to go to LA after undergrad and get into the entertainment industry. I know it's a ridic industry and insanely hard to get into so if you know someone, holler at me," she grins, "But besides that I like listening to music and watching American Idol."

"Did you watch the season finale?" Kurt asks, his eyes widening.

"Hell yeah!" Mercedes grins, "I can't believe-"

"Ahhh spoiler alert!" Rachel sticks her fingers in her ears, "I haven't seen it yet!"

"Fine," Mercedes folds her arms across her chest, then smirks pointedly at Kurt, "You and I need to talk after rehearsal."

The last person to go is Mike- the boy from her audition- and it looks as though he'd been patiently waiting for everyone else to go first before speaking up. He scratches the back of his head in an almost shy way as he talks, "I'm Mike Chang. I'm studying Biochemistry and I love any and all sports- but my one true obsession is dancing-" all the returning members nod knowingly at this as though it were the most obvious fact ever, "-I'm originally from just outside DC and I loved New York the moment I got here."

As he wraps up his little spiel, Mike plays absently with the buttons on his cardigan, a tight-lipped grin appearing across his mouth as though slightly embarrassed to be introducing himself. There's something very refreshingly reserved about him- as though he knows exactly how to keep appropriately engaged in conversation without staying totally silent. And there's something about the way he grins shyly after speaking that makes her think that maybe there's a little bit more to him than just his polite exterior. Tina finds herself staring a little too long as his long fingers toy with each button. Before he starts to turn his head in her direction, she snaps her gaze away from him as quickly as she possible and focuses on Jesse instead.

As Jesse claps his hands resolutely, he announces, "All right, now that we've gotten that out of the way, we have to discuss this year's repertoire. Rachel and I met before school started and compiled a list of potential songs. We'll take a look at it and discuss it in detail. And then I figured we'd do some warm-up exercises. Did anyone actually follow the daily exercise regimen I assigned at the end of last year?"

Rachel's hand shoots up into the air instantly but she retracts it awkwardly as everyone else silently shakes their head. Tina's starting to get the feeling that this is how most of their rehearsals go.

"I thought so," Jesse sighs dramatically, "Anyway, I thought we'd warm-up and then show our newest members one of our numbers from last year- _Somebody to Love_. I'm assuming everyone still remembers the lyrics and choreography?"

There's a general murmur of agreement around the group (along with an enthusiastic "Yes!" from Rachel) and Jesse nods approvingly, "Good."

As he pulls out three sheets of paper, each covered in handwritten notes and highlighter, the group starts to crowd around him and Tina follows suit- she watches as Puck swings an arm over Lauren's shoulder, as Kurt nudges Mercedes and points to something on the list, as Finn and Quinn hang back and keep quiet for the most part, as the other three freshmen nod politely, and as Jesse and Rachel fret over every minute detail of the suggested repertoire. Tina starts to feel like despite how different everyone is, despite how terrifically bizarre everyone seems to be, the NYU New Directions is used to acting like one big dysfunctional family.

* * *

When rehearsal ends two hours later, Tina feels exhausted. The warm-ups weren't difficult and it felt good to stretch her vocal range a little, and the returning members' rendition of _Somebody to Love_ was incredible, but after their performance, Jesse insisted on running some basic choreography with Tina and Blaine as Rachel worked on some vocal runs with Artie and Sam. Part of Tina wonders if they split them off that way because Artie is in a wheelchair, but Jesse had insisted that they never discriminated as a group and would have no problem at all incorporating Artie in their choreography. The other returning members also split themselves between dancing and singing. Regardless, it had been forever since Tina had really danced so long and hard and it didn't help that Mike and Brittany, who had been leading the choreography, make it look depressingly easy when in fact each series of movements makes her feel like she has two left feet.

It also doesn't help that when she's supposed to be carefully noting the choreography, she finds it increasingly difficult not to stare at Mike Chang's extraordinarily long legs and flexible limbs. It takes her less than two minutes to figure out just why everyone seems to associate him with dancing. The dude is downright incredible- all flexible limbs and fluid motions- and if Tina hadn't been so concerned with making a good first impression with her dancing, she would have just sat and stared in the corner as he went through the choreography.

As everyone starts to clear out after rehearsal, Tina lingers a little at the piano with Blaine, who's she's starting to really warm up to. Especially during the choreography practice, she and Blaine have started to exchange shy grins and share their attempts at stifling little fits of laughter whenever Brittany insisted that dancing is controlled by the "Dance Goblins".

"So what'd you think?" Blaine asks quietly as they lean against the piano, watching the majority of the members head out the door with a quick goodbye.

"It was rough," Tina responds with a chuckle, "I haven't sweat that much since my mom forced me to take spin classes with her at the rec center," she flushes immediately after the words leave her mouth, "Er- sorry, that was TMI."

Blaine laughs good-naturedly, "Don't worry, I felt the same way."

Tina watches as Kurt practically skips up to the both of them, bag swinging back and forth over his shoulder, "Tina! Blaine! And how was your first New Directions experience?"

"Exhausting," Tina says at the same time that Blaine says, "So tiring."

Kurt chuckles, waving a hand dismissively, "Besides the obvious."

"Amazing," Tina says emphatically, "I can't wait for the rest of the year."

"Me neither," Blaine nods- he's looking at Kurt with his head slightly cocked to the side and his eyes very resolutely fixed on Kurt's and Tina squints a little at the sight- it doesn't look Blaine is simply politely paying attention to Kurt.

"Oh, I totally agree," Kurt says breezily, "It's always fun but I'm excited to hear your guys' voices incorporated into the group. I'm certain it will be incredible. Anyway, I have to run! I promised a friend I'd meet up with him before he heads out for the night. Bye!"

Kurt, for lack of a better word, saunters off and at this point, the only people left in the room are Blaine and Tina.

"He seems nice," Blaine says after clearing his throat. The way he's staring distantly at the door makes Tina a little suspicious- there's no way the only thing running through Blaine Anderson's mind right now is that Kurt just "_seems nice_". She purses her lips.

"He is- I met him at a coffee shop before I found out I got in."

"Oh really?" Blaine asks, his eyes drifting to the door, "Which coffee shop?"

Tina stares blankly at him, trying not to chuckle, "Uh the one across from my dorm- Weinstein Hall. Why?"

"Just curious," he says all too quickly, shrugging, "I uh- I've been looking for coffee places to go to. Need my caffeine fix each morning, y'know?"

As they collect their things and start to head out together, Tina smiles a little to herself, not totally believing her new friend (which feels good to be able to say- having a "new friend"). Because she's pretty sure Blaine's random interest in one _particular _coffee shop has something to do with the way he was staring so intently at Kurt Hummel.

Which, of course, was not the same in _any_ way as the way she had been staring at Mike Chang.

* * *

When Tina gets back to her room, Santana is scrolling absently through Forever 21's website, her chin propped up against the palm of her hand. She tries not to make too much noise coming in, but Santana turns around right away.

"Sup," she says, nodding her head in acknowledgement before turning back to her online shopping.

"I thought you were going out with Ellen?"

"Not for another half hour. Can't wait- I needs to get my drank on."

"Oh. Okay," Tina plops down on her bed after pulling off her shoes at the door.

It's totally quiet for a good five minutes as Tina changes out of her dress and into her PJs, thankful for the sudden comfort. Maybe she'll make herself a cup of tea with the mini water boiler her parents had made her take and the enormous box of tea bags that she had stowed away on her dresser. And maybe she'll finally get around to Skyping some of her friends from back home.

"How was your lame ass club meeting?"

"Rehearsal," Tina corrects, not really even getting offended anymore by Santana's snide words, "And it was good."

"Were they all total losers?"

"I- no, they weren't. Actually," Tina says slowly, suddenly remembering Quinn, "One of them is the captain of the cheerleading team."

Santana turns around so fast her ponytail hits herself in the face, "_What_? Are you _serious_?"

Tina blinks, "Yeah."

"Quinn Fabray is part of the _glee club_ here?"

"I- yeah."

Santana purses her lips, her eyes narrowing a little. She looks like she's deep in thought. Tina starts to hope she didn't hit a nerve or something- Santana's still pretty pissed off about not making the team.

"Santana? You all right?"

Santana snaps out of it, flipping her hair in an extremely cheerleader-esque way before turning back to her laptop, "Fine," she says in a clipped tone, "I'm totally fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Tina doesn't know whether or not to be surprised when she runs into Blaine the next day after her stats class and he asks for her number as he bounces on his toes.

"I was thinking we could maybe hang out sometimes!" Blaine explains cheerfully, handing her his Android for her to punch in her number, "We can text each other later and maybe meet up? I mean," he colors a little, "If you want. I just thought since we're both in the glee club-"

"-Sounds great," she smiles, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder before accepting his phone and putting in her number, "Wanna grab coffee or something before rehearsal tonight?"

"The place near your dorm?" Blaine asks, and Tina swears there's a hopeful note in his voice.

She grins, catching onto his not-so-subtle request almost immediately, remembering his questions about that place after their _last_ rehearsal, "Sure! Rehearsal's at seven again, right?"

"Yep!" Blaine looks overly excited, "I'm glad we're doing this. I feel like I'm finally making friends."

Tina giggles, handing him back his phone, and says as truthfully as ever, "Me too."

* * *

As promised, not only does Blaine send her a text around dinner time but he also manages to shoot her one during class- a joke about show choir (How many lead singers does it take to change a light bulb? One. He holds the bulb while the world revolves around him) and she giggles despite the fact that the lecture hall is almost completely silent with the exception of her economics professor's horrifyingly dull voice. Quite a few people turn to look at her but for the most part, everyone ignores her. The perks of being in a huge lecture hall, really.

After grabbing dinner from the dining hall later, she rushes to the café excitedly and spots Blaine, already sitting in a booth with a pretty big cup of coffee between his hands. He waves cheerfully when he catches sight of her and she holds up one finger, signaling to him to wait for her while she orders. Once she's gotten her hands on a large black coffee with skim milk and one sugar, she heads over to where Blaine is sitting, greeting him with a smile.

"Hi!"

"Hey," Tina sits down across from him, taking in his knit cardigan and well-gelled curls as she sips her coffee- there's something very prep school-ish about him, as though he's spent his whole life living life by the rules and coloring inside the lines. She decides that she likes that about him, even if it's a first impression entirely based on her own judgment. It's nice to meet someone so polite and clean-cut.

"The coffee here is good," he says decidedly, "We should come here regularly."

"Just for the coffee?" Tina can't help but ask suggestively, arching an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asks, flushing red almost instantly, and Tina knows right away that he knows _exactly_ what she's talking about.

"Well you seemed to suddenly show quite a bit of interest in this place after I told you I met Kurt here the other day..."

Blaine stares at her with wide, half-curious half-astounded eyes, "Are you saying- I don't- wait, how did you know I was gay?"

It didn't really occur to her that _he _hadn't known that _she _knows. It's not something that seems particularly out of the ordinary or concerning and it had at the time just seemed like a normal, fleeting observation. Tina half-opens her mouth, frowning, "I- does it matter? I just kind of... guessed? I'm sorry, I know it's bad to assume-"

"- It's... it's okay," he says, still looking shocked, "It's just people aren't usually able to tell. I guess I don't usually fit the typical gay stereotype, whatever that is."

She offers him a smile, "You were just too focused on Kurt to _not_ want something other than a platonic relationship."

He blushes, "He's just- he's really talented. Did you hear his little bit in _Somebody to Love_?"

"I did! He really is very talented," Tina nods in agreement, "In fact-"

As if right on cue, the door to the coffee shop opens and Kurt, in all his pinstriped and patterned vest glory, appears, eyes sweeping across the coffee shop before landing on the booth that she and Blaine are occupying. He breaks out in a grin and orders a coffee from the counter before skipping over.

"Hey you two! Tina- we can't keep running into each other like this."

"Hi! And that's not fair- last time you staked me out!" Tina jokes before shooting a deliberate _scoot-over_ glance toward Blaine- who catches it right away and makes room for Kurt to sit next to him. Kurt takes the seat jovially, swinging an arm across the back of his chair and leaning forward a little.

"Will you guys be heading over to rehearsal in a bit?" Kurt asks, wrapping his fingers around his coffee before taking a slow sip.

Blaine rushes to answer, "Absolutely. I'm excited for tonight's rehearsal."

"You should be," Kurt nods knowingly, "Jesse and Mike are gonna be running through the basics of _Bohemian Rhapsody._ It's a challenging number to start with at the beginning of the year."

At the mention of Mike, Tina colors a little. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't spent last night after rehearsal thinking about not only the way he seems to have complete control over his hips but also the way he quirks his eyebrow when he dances as though he has some sort of secret behind his lips that only he will ever know. Just recounting the image of him commanding attention in the room with his moves makes her shiver a little. There's something extremely enchanting about Mike Chang, that's for sure.

In an attempt to conceal the blush in her cheeks, she lowers her face a little as Blaine engages in conversation with Kurt.

"_Bohemian Rhapsody _seems like an awfully difficult number to take on so early on," Blaine says with bright, curious eyes.

"It is- but trust me, Jesse is the king of Queen," he chuckles at his own wordplay, "And if anyone can teach that number, it's him."

"Will it only get more difficult from here on out?"

"You can bet on it."

"I can't wait."

"You said you did show choir in high school, right?"

"Yeah, it was the best part of high school, to be honest."

As they take off in their conversation, completely leaving Tina to her own thoughts, she can't help but grin to herself. She's never really considered herself a matchmaker, but it's also never been quite as obvious as Kurt and Blaine. Maybe they wouldn't realize it for quite some time, but it's only really a matter of time.

By the time they get to the topic of best ballads in history, Tina checks her phone- it's six fifty.

"Hey- we should get going," she suggests, tapping her phone with her index finger, "Don't wanna be late."

"You're right," Kurt says hurriedly, standing up and gathering his things from under the table, "Let's go."

* * *

The door to the rehearsal room is closed and almost every single member of the club is huddled outside, looking anxious and a little annoyed.

"What's going on?" Kurt pipes up upon arrival, furrowing his brow at the sight of the crowd outside the room. Puck, Lauren, and Finn are leaning against the door, Brittany is sitting on the floor trying to balance a pencil on the palm of her hand, and Quinn and Mercedes are both checking their hair in their compacts. Sam and Artie are bent over some paper and discussing it in hushed voices. Mike stands up from where he was sitting as soon as the three of them arrive, waving in greeting. Tina waves a little too eagerly and tries to hide it by turning to face Puck. _Real smooth_, she groans to herself.

"Some girl came up to Jesse and Rachel earlier about auditioning late," Puck explains with a snort, "Good thing she's hot or I swear I wouldn't be okay with this."

Lauren jabs him (rather roughly too, Tina notices) in the side, "Don't be a pig, Puckerman."

"I'm just sayin'," Puck says sourly, "We've got rules for a reason."

"Since when have you ever cared about the rules?" Finn laughs, "I mean, if she's good, why not? We didn't get a ton of girls this year."

Tina blushes a little as the majority of the group glances at her- she's the only new female member, which is actually pretty flattering. Unless, of course, whoever the new girl is ends up getting accepted as well. Which would be nice, really, to have another girl to join the ranks.

"Can you hear her from out here?" Blaine asks curiously, leaning in a little.

"Nah," Puck rubs his jaw, "Walls are pretty soundproof."

The door is opened five minutes later by Rachel, who smiles brightly, "Helloooo! Come on in everyone, I apologize for the holdup!"

They file into the room, everyone clambering to get in first to see the mystery girl. By the time she gets into the room and sees Jesse standing next to an... all too familiar girl, Tina's jaw practically smashes into the floor.

"_Santana?_" Tina splutters incredulously, "Wh- _you_? _You're_ the one auditioning?"

"You _know_ her?" Puck says, staring in fixation at Santana, who's ruffling her hair, looking rather pleased with herself. Puck's jaw is still on the ground and he's practically _drooling_ right where he stands.

"Yeah, she's my roommate," Tina stares, gaping, "I thought you said glee clubs were lame?"

Santana laughs a little too loudly, replying primly, "Don't be ridiculous! I love show choir. I just missed the audition, is all. Jesse here was kind enough to let me audition anyway. And I got in!"

Everyone claps politely- Finn and Puck applaud more heartily than the rest of them- and Santana does a little curtsy.

"Yes, her rendition of _Smooth Criminal _was very impressive," Jesse nods briskly, "We're very lucky to have her."

"She's a criminal?" Brittany asks in alarm, staring at Santana with particular interest in her wide eyes.

"No Britt," Quinn says patiently, "It's a Michael Jackson song."

"I guess if you're cool with Jesse and Rachel, you're cool with us," Finn says slowly, smiling a little.

Santana smiles sweetly, "I'm so glad to become a part of this group, you guys. _So _very glad."

Tina shakes her head in disbelief as everyone introduces themselves to Santana. She had made it very clear earlier on that she had absolutely _no _interest in the glee club- she had even gone as far as scoffing the fact that Tina had wanted to audition for it. What changed? Why would she suddenly want to go out of her way to audition?

As everyone finds their seats and Jesse and Rachel stand before them, starting to introduce the most important parts about performing _Bohemian Rhapsody_, Tina steals a glance at Santana- and suddenly the answer is clear.

Santana has her gaze fixed very clearly on Quinn, a sense of determination blazing behind her eyes. Tina's mouth forms a very round 'o' in realization.

Santana isn't here for show choir at all. She's here to win Quinn over- to convince Quinn to give her a second chance at the cheerleading team.

* * *

_Bohemian Rhapsody_'s choreography, as designed by Mike and Brittany, is a series of some of the most difficult moves Tina's ever had to learn in her entire life. Mike and Brittany go through it dozens of times before the whole group can get a decent hang of it- Finn and Sam have the hardest time with it although Mercedes whispers in her ear after their first run-through, insisting that Finn learned the number last year and should _theoretically _have no problem with it- and it's comforting how great both Mike and Brittany are with them. Brittany is happy-go-lucky in ever sense and gives instruction two or three times more cheerfully than Tina could ever manage herself. And Mike is patient beyond belief. The singing part of rehearsal isn't difficult at all- almost every knows _Bohemian Rhapsody_ by heart- it's a total staple in anyone's musical repertoire.

When they take a quick water break halfway through rehearsal, Tina takes Santana aside immediately.

"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" Tina hisses.

"What?" Santana blinks innocently, "Whatever do you mean?"

"You totally only auditioned to get your second chance at the cheerleadng team!"

Santana glances around at the other members, who are gathered around the piano with their water bottles, cracking jokes and looking cheerful, before leaning in again and muttering under her breath, "_Look_, I admit I need another shot at the cheerleading team, all right? But don't get your panties in a bunch- I'll still, y'know, come to these rehearsals and everything. I'll probably just drop out next year- once I'm on the cheerleading team like I should be."

"Santana, I can't believe you'd do something like that," Tina shakes her head, "You can't just _use_ the New Directions like that. This is _important _to us."

"Whatever," she huffs, "It's just a glee club, all right? And I'm talented," she shrugs, "It's a win-win sitch."

Santana brushes Tina off and heads over to Quinn and Brittany, who are talking and laughing on the other side of the room. Tina sighs in frustration. There's really not much she can do to stop her. If Santana was good enough to please Jesse and Rachel, then she'd have to be pretty damn good. It just never struck her that _Santana _would be particularly good at singing.

Tina rejoins the rest of the group, grabbing her blue plastic water bottle from her bag and taking a slow, measured gulp as she fumes bitterly over Santana's scheming. In reality, she has no time to think about Santana or her ridiculous plot to secure her place on the cheerleading team, but she's Tina's _roommate_ and she's hijacking her new club, and it feels like it's an invasion of privacy on all fronts. It's annoying as hell but Tina figures it'll blow over sooner or later- and it shouldn't really be her business anyway. She sets her water bottle down on the floor and stands with the others, where they're singing verses of _Bohemian Rhapsody _around the piano, and glances over at Mike, who's got his face scrunched up in total focus as he hits each note, his eyes nearly glassing over in concentration. She has a hard time keeping her eyes off his endearingly distorted expression- it's adorable in its own right and she has a feeling he has to put in extra effort to hit all his notes- dancing seems to be more his thing than singing.

He catches her eye as she's staring and a slow smile creeps over his lips while he sings. It's shy and it's sweet and it makes Tina want to fan herself a little just to clear the fog that's building in her head. She returns the smile hesitantly but then turns away, facing Jesse instead, who's leading the scales with wildly animated gestures with his arms.

Jesse stops them after the second verse and waves his arm in annoyance, "Sharp."

"Jesus, St. James," Puck sneers, "Don't sugar coat it."

"Look," Jesse says brashly, "If we wanna do well this year in competition we have to catch even the smallest mistakes. We can't let those kinds of things slip by us."

Rachel nods enthusiastically, "I com_pletely_ agree. There is absolutely _no _reason for us to do poorly this year- especially with the addition of so many new voices."

Tina can see Santana roll her eyes from where she's standing while inspecting her nails- behind Quinn and Brittany and looking supremely bored with the whole situation. It just exasperates her more to see how little she's enjoying it.

"If we're all gonna be saps about this, I'm going to the bathroom," Puck mumbles.

"Oh shut it Puck," Mercedes smacks him on the forearm, "Rachel's right. There's no way in hell we're losing as badly as we did last year."

"How bad was it last year?" Sam asks, eyes wide.

Jesse winces, "We don't like to talk about it."

"What happened?"

"Rachel and Finn had... been dating at the time," Quinn says slowly, looking as though it pained her to explain, "And they did the ballad and ended up... kissing on stage at the end of the number."

Blaine's gasp makes up for the fact that Sam, Artie, and Tina do nothing more than stare blankly in confusion. Tina cocks her question questioningly and Blaine elaborates, "It's against unspoken show choir law to do something like that."

"Yeah, we _know_," Rachel says- her cheeks are completely red, "We've said sorry like a _thousand _times."

"And it'll never happen again," Finn adds quickly.

"Yeah because we all agreed Berry and St. James will be singing the ballads from now on- and you guys aren't even going out anymore," Puck rolls his eyes.

Rachel and Finn still look awkwardly embarrassed but Mercedes pats them both reassuringly, "Chill out, you two. It's no biggie."

Tonight's rehearsal goes by just as fast as the first one. There's something to be said about time going by quickly when you're having fun.

As everyone leaves and she's already out the door and in the hallway, she feels a tap on her shoulder. It's Mike.

"Oh- hi," she squeaks, flushing almost instantly- she can already feel the intense warmth in her cheeks as she skids to a stop to face him. His short sleeve button up shirt and gray skinny jeans- or rather, the arms that his shirt highlights and the legs that his jeans do a poor job of hiding- make it difficult not to stare.

"Hey," he says, flashing her a small smile, "You left your water bottle in the rehearsal room." He holds out her water bottle and sort of does this half-shrug, half-bounce thing with his shoulders.

"Oh- um, thanks," Tina accepts it, "I'm always forgetting my stuff everywhere." _Why are you telling him this? _She feels like a socially awkward middle schooler talking to a longstanding crush.

"It's okay, me too," Mike chuckles as they start to walk down the hallway toward the stairs together. Everyone's already way ahead of them or totally gone and it's just the two of them at this point. She feels like she's stuck in the middle of a terrible rom com scene setup.

Tina stashes the bottle into her bag and searches desperately for a string of words that might save herself from looking like an awkward social mute, "Um- thanks for teaching us today. You're- you're a really talented dancer."

Mike kind of has his head tilted downward so that his chin is almost touching his neck but he's looking at her through his eyelashes with a sheepish little grin and his hand rubbing the nape of his neck and she literally feels like screaming- _that's _how cute he's being.

"I'm all right," he says after a long pause.

She looks at him as though he's gone totally mad, "'_All right_'? You are most definitely more than just '_all right'."_

He bursts out in a bout of good-natured laughter, "Well, let's just say I'm the dork who spends the most time cooped up in my room dancing in front of my own mirror."

"Practice makes perfect."

"Oh, far from it," Mike shakes his head. They've walked outside at this point and it's almost completely dark out with only the campus street lamps leaving pools of light down the sidewalks, "You learn quick, by the way."

She shrugs, "I guess I've always been pretty good at observing and imitating- it came with learning piano way back when."

"Oh, you play piano too?" Mike asks, sounding genuinely interested, "Multi-talented!"

"Hardly," she laughs, but can't help feeling a swell of pride, "Just got a pair of overzealous Asian parents."

The way his face lights up in empathy is so enthusiastic it's almost comical.

"_Oh-my-god_," Mike says in a spluttering of words, "I. Feel. You."

Tina cracks up, "Something you can sympathize with?"

"You have _no_ idea. No wait- yes you do! Oh god," Mike says, laughing as they walk down main campus, "I bet they told you it would 'enrich your education' and 'help your college application'.

"Almost literally those exact same words."

Mike stares at her in wonderment, "I feel like I'm meeting my other half."

They both go completely silent as Tina gapes at him at his choice of words and his eyes widen in horror and his cheeks turn an actually rather flattering shade of crimson as he realizes what he's said.

"I mean- not like that- not that I wouldn't- it's just-"

"It's okay," Tina says, trying to ignore her heart and its betraying thumping in her chest and her flaming hot cheeks and clearing her throat several times, "Really. I know what you mean," she assures him, "My parents used to worry that one instrument wasn't enough- that if I wanted to _really_ impress admissions officers, I'd have to pick up another instrument too."

"Oh god," he says again, shaking his head with laughter as the redness fades from his face a little, "Hey- are you headed back to your dorm?"

"Um, yeah," Tina says hesitantly, discovering that she doesn't feel quite ready to end this conversation with Mike.

"It's a Friday," he says cheerfully, "No reason to lock yourself up in your dorm room."

"This coming from the guy who admits to dancing by himself in his room for hours on end?"

Mike laughs, "Fair enough. But still! Hey- have you been to Bubble Tea Lounge yet?"

"I- no?"

"Best bubble tea in the city," Mike says excitedly, "C'mon- I'll take you!"

"I really should catch up on homework..."

"Come onnnnn," he wheedles, "Seriously, you haven't _lived_ until you've tried their red bean milk tea."

Tina laughs, arching an eyebrow, "Really. Has everybody else in the club tried it?"

"Er- no. But I mean, not everyone _likes_ bubble tea. I'm guessing you do?"

"Why? 'Cause I'm Asian?" Tina pretends to look offended. Except it doesn't work all that well because she'd sell her own soul for a lifetime supply of bubble tea. She and her friends literally went out for it once a week... at _least_.

"Hey! Are you calling me racist?" Mike brings his hands up to his chest in mock defense, "You just seem like... someone... who'd enjoy bubble tea."

"_Right_," Tina giggles, "Fine, let's go."

Mike grins triumphantly, "You won't regret it."

They follow a side road on campus and Mike asks question after question about her life- it genuinely surprises her how interested he seems to be in even the most boring, insignificant details of her life.

"So did you like playing the piano growing up?" Mike's eyes are trained unflinchingly on her as they walk, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"No one's ever asked me that before, now that I think about it," Tina says thoughtfully, a little taken aback, "At first, I didn't. Because it was something my parents made me do."

He nods, "That's how I was about clarinet, too."

"You played clarinet?"

"'Played' might be too generous of a word," he winces, "I'm not much of a musician."

"But you can sing!"

He grimaces, "Passably."

"I don't believe that," she says mildly, "I've never heard you sing by yourself."

"Well-"

"That has to change in the near future," Tina grins.

He waggles his eyebrows mysteriously, "We'll see."

When they get to Bubble Tea Lounge, which is an adorable little place on the west side of campus, decorated with pastel colors and cartoonish characters on the walls, Mike reaches for the door to open it for her but she beats him to it, earning a mildly surprised look from him but nothing more. Thank god he didn't question it. She hated it when guys commented on how she liked to open her own doors.

The line is pretty long- ("it _is_ a Friday night," Mike reasons)- and they wait patiently behind an overly affectionate Asian couple who are speaking in rapid-fire Chinese- which Tina doesn't understand a word of, seeing as how she's Korean, but Mike seems to be comprehending by his amused expression.

After the couple leaves with their orders, Tina whispers, "What did they say?"

"They were arguing about his mother," Mike chuckles, ordering himself a coconut milk tea with bubbles while she orders the red bean under his suggestion, "She kept saying how she didn't want to meet his mom because she's so intimidating and he kept insisting that they'd get along... eventually."

"I totally understand," Tina nods furiously, "Asian moms can be scary as hell. I have a friend back home whose mom refuses to let her go out on weekends unless she's completed at least three practice tests for the SAT."

"I'd laugh at that- except I had a friend whose mom did the exact same thing," Mike shakes his head, chuckling despite himself- Tina joins in.

They get their drinks from the surly looking guy who works behind the counter and Mike picks out a small empty booth in the corner for them to sit.

"So Tina Cohen-Chang," Mike says with a little wiggle of his shoulders, "How do you like being a part of the New Directions so far?"

"I love it," she says immediately, already feeling herself get a little starry-eyed, "It's exactly what I was looking forward to being a part of once I got to college."

Mike nods, "It's like being a part of a whole new family. I gotta say- I wasn't lying the day of your audition when I said how great you were. You really blew everyone else outta the water."

Tina shakes her head modestly, "Singing's just always been a big part of who I am."

"Same with dancing for me."

"You never considered going professional or something?"

Mike doesn't respond immediately, staring down at his bubble tea quietly before opening his mouth slowly to respond, "It's not what my parents would have wanted."

And in that moment, Tina swears she and Mike are one and the same- the way he looks forlornly at his hands as though just needing something to stare at so that he doesn't have to look at her and the way he presses his lips together firmly- as though some sort of distant dream has slipped away from his very fingertips.

"That's- that's sort of why I ended up choosing NYU," Mike says, his voice barely over a whisper, "I thought- I thought maybe in between classes, in between studying for the MCAT, I could find a little window of opportunity for my dancing career to take off... right alongside my medical career."

_There_. Those words.

That explanation. The exact same reason why this time last year, Tina had printed out NYU's application, taken a deep breath, and filled it out resolutely- crossing her fingers that one day in the future, an audition would pay off and her Broadway dreams would become a reality.

Tina remembers opening up Google several times a week and searching open casting calls in New York, researching master classes and workshops, and looking for extracurricular groups on campus that would help her toward her goal. Because as she folded her legs in her chair and fixedly stared at her computer screen, dreaming of NYU and more importantly, _New York City_, she knew her real reason for applying. She knew it even though she told her parents time after time that it was for their economics program, that it was for opening the doors to her future business career.

She opens and closes her mouth three or four times before finally coming up with a response- and even when she says it she feels like it's not enough to convey what she's feeling right at this very moment.

"Me too, Mike. Me too."


End file.
